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  • Gynesonics Closes $21 Mln Financing Round

    HBM Partners led a $21 million Series D financing round for Gynesonics. Correlation Ventures, a new investor, took part in the financing as well as existing investors Abingworth, Advanced Technology Ventures (ATV) and InterWest Partners. Redwood City, Calif.-based Gynesonics is a women’s healthcare company that develops minimally invasive solutions for symptomatic uterine fibroids.

    PRESS RELEASE

    Gynesonics, Inc., a women’s healthcare company focused on minimally invasive solutions for symptomatic uterine fibroids, announced today a Series D financing led by HBM Partners based in Switzerland. The $21 million financing included additional new investor Correlation Ventures and existing investors Abingworth, Advanced Technology Ventures (ATV) and InterWest Partners. Gynesonics will use the proceeds to continue clinical and commercial development of the VizAblate® System, a transcervical, ultrasound-guided ablation system for the treatment of uterine fibroids. VizAblate® has the CE Mark in the European Union and is currently limited to investigational use in the United States.

    “Gynesonics has developed an important product, serving a major unmet need in women’s health,” said Darrin Uecker, the company’s President and CEO. “We are pleased to bring in HBM Partners, another high-quality international investor with relevant industry expertise and a strong worldwide network to help us deliver on this exciting technology.”

    “We are delighted about the Gynesonics investment,” said Dr. Chandra P. Leo, Partner at HBM. “Women’s health is an important strategic field for a number of large healthcare companies and symptomatic uterine fibroids represent a large opportunity in this space. Based on its incision-less approach and promising clinical data, we believe that the VizAblate® System will significantly improve gynecologists’ treatment options for this common condition.” Dr. Leo has joined the Gynesonics Board of Directors.

    Gynesonics is also pleased to announce the addition of two U.S. patents, 8,088,072 and 8,262,577, to the company’s substantial and growing patent portfolio. Gynesonics has invested significantly in the development of graphical overlays to show the projected treatment region and safety boundary within the VizAblate® System user interface, and these patents relate specifically to the use of these overlays for image guided fibroid treatment.

    “Graphical overlays are very important to the VizAblate® System’s ease of use and learning curve. They enable a very intuitive approach and will be an important feature of any image guided treatment solution,” said Dr. Marlies Bongers, Ob/Gyn at Maxima Medisch Centrum in The Netherlands and a clinical investigator in the Gynesonics FAST-EU clinical study.

    As many as 3 out of 4 women will have fibroids during their reproductive life. The symptoms that fibroids may cause include heavy menstrual bleeding, pelvic pain and pressure, and urinary dysfunction. Today, the most frequent surgical treatment for symptomatic uterine fibroids is a hysterectomy, with approximately 250,000 hysterectomies being performed in the United States each year.

    About Gynesonics

    Gynesonics is a women’s healthcare company focused on minimally invasive solutions for symptomatic uterine fibroids. Gynesonics has developed the VizAblate® System, a transcervical, ultrasound-guided ablation system for the treatment of uterine fibroids. VizAblate® has the CE Mark in the European Union and is currently limited to investigational use in the United States. Gynesonics is a privately held company with headquarters in Redwood City, California.

    About HBM Partners

    HBM Partners is a globally active, healthcare-focused investment management group headquartered in Switzerland. The funds advised by HBM invest in private and public companies across North America, Europe, India and China. Since 2001, HBM has generated more than 40 trade sales and IPOs of pharma/biotech, medtech and diagnostics companies.

    More information can be found at: www.hbmpartners.com

    About Abingworth

    Abingworth is an international investment group dedicated exclusively to the life sciences and healthcare sector. The company invests at all stages of development including early and late-stage venture financing, growth equity and public companies. Founded in 1973, Abingworth has a lengthy track record of backing market leading companies. Abingworth has a specialist team of 19 professionals with a broad range of skill sets and access to an extensive network of industry contacts. Abingworth has funds under management of over $1.25 billion and offices in London, Menlo Park (California) and Boston.

    More information can be found at: www.abingworth.com

    About InterWest

    For more than 30 years, InterWest has partnered with exceptional entrepreneurs to build winning technology and life sciences companies. With more than 200 years of combined operating and investing experience, the firm’s investing team has raised $2.8B, completed more than 70 IPOs, and participated in nearly 60 upside acquisitions. As the firm invests InterWest X, a $650M fund, the InterWest team continues to believe that providing capital is just the beginning of a long-term collaboration with entrepreneurs to turn their vision into a thriving company.

    More information can be found at: www.interwest.com

    About Correlation Ventures

    Correlation Ventures, a $165 million venture capital fund, leverages world-class analytics to offer entrepreneurs and other venture capitalists a dramatically better option when they are seeking additional co-investment capital to complete a financing round. The firm makes investment decisions in two weeks or less and offers reliability and transparency about reserves and its intentions to follow in future financings. Correlation Ventures invests across all industry segments, U.S. geographies and investment stages – from seed through late stage. Current portfolio companies include AirXpanders, Aldea Pharmaceuticals, Bunchball, edo interactive, Framehawk, Getaround, MOGL, RQx Pharmaceuticals, SAY Media, Telly, and Virsto Software. Correlation Ventures has offices in Palo Alto and San Diego, CA.

    More information can be found at: www.correlationvc.com and @correlationvc

    About Advanced Technology Ventures

    Advanced Technology Ventures (ATV) is a bi-coastal venture capital firm with more than $1.8 billion in capital under management. The firm works with entrepreneurial teams in several technology markets, including IT, healthcare and cleantech, to transform emerging growth companies into market leaders. Founded in 1979, ATV has an established track record of success helping to build strong, sustainable companies.

    More information can be found at: www.atvcapital.com

    The post Gynesonics Closes $21 Mln Financing Round appeared first on peHUB.

  • Next Generation Kinect To Have Higher Resolution, Larger Viewing Field [Rumor]

    Microsoft’s Kinect was a pretty revolutionary piece of technology. It’s unfortunate that many of the games released for it have turned out to be so bad. That may not change with the rumored next generation Kinect, but the technology is definitely getting a major upgrade.

    VGLeaks, the source behind the recent next Xbox and PS4 specs leak, comes the latest round of leaks concerning Microsoft’s next generation Kinect hardware. We already know that the next Xbox may require Kinect to be plugged in at all times, but this latest rumor gets into the nitty gritty details of the hardware.

    According to the rumor, here’s what we can expect from the next generation Kinect hardware:

  • Improved field of view results in much larger play space.
  • RGB stream is higher quality and higher resolution.
  • Depth stream is much higher resolution and able to resolve much smaller objects.
  • Higher depth stream accuracy enables separating objects in close depth proximity.
  • Higher depth stream accuracy captures depth curvature around edges better.
  • Active infrared (IR) stream permits lighting independent processing and feature recognition.
  • End to end pipeline latency is improved by 33 ms.

    • The field of view for the next Kinect has been increased to 70 inches by 60 inches. That’s a pretty sizable increase from 57.5 inches by 43.5 inches. The resolution has been increased from 640×480 to 1920×1080. The latency has also been decreased from 90 ms to 60 ms.

    All in all, the next Kinect is a substantial upgrade in pretty much every respect. Games utilizing the technology will be able to detect more limited range of movements, and capture more parts of the body. The original Kinect was going to have finger tracking, and that feature may come back in the newest Kinect hardware.

    Of course, all of this is rumor for now. We won’t know anything for sure until Microsoft lifts the veil on its next generation console. The PS4 will be unveiled tonight, however, so Microsoft better show its hand sooner than later.

  • Here Comes The Next PlayStation! Join Us Live At 6pm Eastern/3pm Pacific For The Sony Event Liveblog

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    The war for your living room is about to heat up. While Microsoft is still keeping its own next-generation console under lock and key, rival Sony is gearing up to take the stage in New York City and show off exactly what it’s been working on for the past few years. Naturally, we’ll be liveblogging the whole thing starting at 6PM Eastern/3PM Pacific tonight.

    Like nearly every other major hardware release in recent memory, the PlayStation 4 (or whatever it’s going to be called) has been the subject of scads of questionable rumors and clandestine leaks. Curious code name? Check. Preliminary glimpses at hardware? Check. Unnerving (and hopefully unfounded) reports that the console won’t play nice with used games? Sadly, check.

    Even now, the rumor mill persists — Sony may push its next-gen console out the door as soon as November (with the ability to control it via smartphone, no less) if a new report from Kotaku holds water. Still, for while we know (or think we know) about Sony’s plans for tonight, expect the company to whip out a few surprises to keep the masses planted firmly on the edge of their seats.

    That said, at this point it seems highly unlikely that Sony will pull back the curtain on everything it’s working on, if only because of its sketchy track record with keeping promises made on stage. One need only look at the company’s original PS3 announcement to see that some of the experiences that Sony promised it would bring to the table just haven’t materialized (or at least, haven’t materialized in the way we had hoped).

    Either way, Sony’s little shindig in Gotham tonight is going to be one to worth listening in on. To stay abreast on all of Sony’s big announcements, keep your eyes on our PlayStation Meeting event tag here.

  • EPA’s Coal Purge Claims Latest Victim

    A planned 1200 megawatt, $3 billion coal-fired power plant in Corpus Christi, Texas is one of the latest casualties in the war on affordable, reliable energy. Chase Power, the company behind the Las Brisas power plant, announced last month that it is cancelling the project due to red tape and litigation spawned by the Environmental Protection Agency’s regulations on coal plants.

    Discussing the demise of the project, which would have used the petroleum coke byproduct of refineries as an electricity generating source, Chase Power CEO Dave Freysinger held the EPA responsible. “The (Las Brisas Energy Center) is a victim of EPA’s concerted effort to stifle solid-fuel energy facilities in the U.S., including EPA’s carbon-permitting requirements and EPA’s New Source Performance Standards (NSPS) for new power plants,” he said. “These costly rules exceeded the bounds of EPA authority, incur tremendous costs, and produce no real benefits related to climate change.”

    The plant—and the 3,900 jobs that would have come with it—fell victim to EPA’s concerted effort to end coal-fired power in the U.S. using rules like the ban on new coal-fired power plants and the Mercury and Air Toxics Rule (MATS, and also colloquially called Utility MACT).

    But Las Brisas is just one more example of EPA’s efforts. Barclays, the investment bank, estimates that the MATS rule alone will cause 42 gigawatts of coal plant generating capacity to close.[1]

    President Obama has said many times that we should follow the example of Europe when it comes to electricity generation. But that is a recipe for higher electricity rates. In Germany, residential electricity prices are nearly three times higher than the U.S., thanks to the country’s massive subsidies for renewables.

    Cap-and-trade legislation failed in 2009 when Obama’s allies controlled both chambers of Congress, because the American people rejected it. MATS and the ban on new coal-fired power plants are the president’s attempt to impose by regulatory fiat what he could not accomplish democratically. These are costly rules which the American people never asked for and President Obama never ran on. They are a reflection of how “the most open and transparent” administration in history has failed to live up to its billing.

    For the past few years electricity demand growth has been weak because of a sputtering economy. But there will hopefully come a time when we will need more energy. When that time comes, these coal-fired power plants will be gone and America will have substantially less affordable, reliable energy. The electricity we need to power our homes, schools, and offices will be more expensive, and our country will be worse off for it. That’s not progress, it’s perilous.

    IER Policy Intern Alex Fitzsimmons contributed to this article.

     

    [1] Barclays, Power & Uilities: CO2 Reductions Ahead, Jan. 28, 2013.

  • Adobe, HootSuite Talk About New Twitter Marketing Integrations

    As previously reported, Twitter has officially launched its Ads API. Initial partners include: Adobe, HootSuite, Salesforce, SHIFT and TBG Digital.

    Adobe shared some early results, as its Media Optimizer tool (which manages over $2 billion in annual ad spend) utilizes the API. The company worked with a few of its customers, including Levi Strauss and Threadless as well as its own Adobe account, and shared these results:

    • By using granular targeting, testing different bid levels and segmenting campaigns by regions, Media Optimizer was able to increase the follower base (number of followers on Twitter) by 63%
    • Adobe saw the total Cost Per Follow (CPF) decrease by close to 60% or approximately $2.00
    • Prior to the campaign Adobe saw steady organic growth at around two dozen followers per day. With Promoted Accounts Adobe saw the growth rate spike dramatically to an average of over 400 new followers per day
    • Since the completion of the campaign Adobe saw its follower growth revert to a new, higher baseline of about 115 followers per day. Postings and promotions have not changed significantly, which indicates a possible ongoing benefit of Twitter’s Promoted Accounts and new followers being highly engaged with the brand

    “Our customers have been asking us to include Twitter in the Media Optimizer solution,” says David Karnstedt, Senior Vice President, Media and Ad Solutions at Adobe. “Promoted Tweets and Promoted Accounts are important assets in creating a holistic digital marketing campaign. The performance gains Media Optimizer produced during our beta period, such as lowering cost-per-follow by 60%, are indicative of the value we offer our customers for their Twitter campaigns.”

    The company discusses its early campaign results more here.

    HootSuite is offering a new integration for Twitter, providing customers with amplification of owned into paid media, agency collaboration, real-time social campaigning, and layered social media reporting.

    Promote an account

    “HootSuite provides our clients with the ability to amplify their owned content, keeping them at the forefront of social advertising opportunities. This process is now a simple and efficient one,” says Ryan Holmes, CEO of HootSuite. “The new integration allows stakeholders in social businesses to instantly buy Promoted Tweets and Accounts from their HootSuite dashboard using our secure, role-based team workflow.”

    More on HootSuite’s new integration here.

  • Satori Invests in Longhorn Health

    Satori Capital said Wednesday it has invested in Longhorn Health Solutions. Financial terms were not announced. Austin-based Longhorn is a direct-to-home provider of consumable medical supplies, durable medical equipment, and pharmaceutical prescriptions. Brookside Group provided debt financing while Allegiance Capital Corp. provided financial advice to Longhorn.

    PRESS RELEASE

    Satori Capital (“Satori”), a Dallas-based private equity firm, announced today that it has invested in Longhorn Health Solutions, Inc. (“Longhorn”). Headquartered in Austin, Texas, Longhorn is a leading direct-to-home provider of consumable medical supplies, durable medical equipment, and pharmaceutical prescriptions serving the Medicaid, Medicare, and privately insured populations across Texas.

    “Longhorn is intently focused on reducing total cost-of-care for managed care organizations by streamlining billing processes, improving patient utilization and compliance, enhancing product quality, and heightening transparency throughout the patient, provider, and payor ecosystem,” said Sunny Vanderbeck, Managing Partner at Satori. “We believe in the team’s service-based approach, and look forward to partnering with them to further serve the growing needs of their stakeholders.”

    Longhorn offers customers a comprehensive range of high-quality disposable medical products, incontinence supplies, durable medical equipment, enteral nutrition products, and diabetic testing supplies. The company is a contract provider for managed care organizations within Texas Medicaid STAR+PLUS, STAR, and Medicare. Longhorn also recently launched a pharmacy division that serves the entire state of Texas. The company employs nearly 150 team members, and leverages its ten branch locations to utilize a high-touch delivery model. Britt Peterson, founder and CEO of Longhorn, will continue to lead the company.

    “Longhorn has earned a reputation for excellence through its reliable performance, dedicated customer service, statewide presence, and commitment to integrity and kindness across everything that we do,” said Britt Peterson, Longhorn CEO. “Our partnership with Satori provides access to a deeper network of healthcare expertise, a valuable collection of operational best practices, and ample resources for both organic expansion and growth via acquisition. Collectively, these resources strengthen Longhorn’s ability to provide higher quality products and services that improve patient outcomes, while also providing manufacturers with cost-effective access to a highly fragmented home health patient base.”

    The Brookside Group provided debt financing for the transaction, and Allegiance Capital Corporation acted as exclusive financial advisor to Longhorn. Patton Boggs LLP and Munsch Hardt Kopf & Harr, P.C. acted as legal counsel to Satori Capital and Longhorn Health Solutions, respectively. Specific terms of the transaction were not disclosed.

    About Satori Capital

    Dallas, Texas-based Satori Capital is the preferred capital partner for companies building significant long-term value through a sustainable approach. Satori’s team has a long and successful track record as private equity investors and founders and CEOs of both private and public companies. Satori partners with talented management teams to accelerate the growth of companies that are “built to last” and meet a set of criteria described as “sustainability.” These businesses deliver strong returns by operating with a long-term perspective, committing to their mission or purpose, and focusing on creating value for all stakeholders. For more information, please visit www.satoricapital.com.

    About Longhorn Health Solutions

    Longhorn Health Solutions is a leading service-oriented, direct-to-consumer distributor of durable medical equipment, consumable medical supplies, and pharmaceutical prescriptions to home-based Medicaid, Medicare, and privately insured patients across Texas. Based in Austin, Texas, the company offers statewide distribution from its ten locations in Austin, Beaumont, Corpus Christi, El Paso, Fort Worth, Harlingen, Houston, Lubbock, San Antonio, and Waco. For more information, please visit www.longhornhealth.com and www.lhsrx.com.

    The post Satori Invests in Longhorn Health appeared first on peHUB.

  • Want Google Glass? You’ll need some luck (and $1,500)

    Google announced Wednesday that it’s making Google Glass, its augmented reality smart glasses, available to a lucky few “creative individuals.” U.S. residents can apply now to receive — or, rather, have the chance to buy — a pair of Google glasses. They have to make their case on Twitter or on Google+ in 50 words or less (plus up to five photos and one video) by February 27.

    If selected, applicants will have the option to pay $1,500 plus tax and then head to “a special pick-up experience in New York, Los Angeles, or the San Francisco Bay area.” Applications are judged based on “how creative, compelling, original, useful, and influential the applications and their proposed uses for Glass are, and how broad a spectrum of user interaction they would provide.”

    So far it seems as if Google Glass’s Twitter account @projectglass is fielding a lot of complaints about the U.S.-only requirement. The company also tweeted that it’s working on a solution for people who wear prescription glasses, and that available colors will be “Tangerine, Charcoal, Shale, Cotton and Sky.”

    Google also released a video taken through Google Glass, showing that users can take pictures, record video and get translations, answers and other info by asking.

    Related research and analysis from GigaOM Pro:
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  • Wade Joins Atlantic-Pacific Capital

    Brian Wade has joined Atlantic-Pacific Capital as a partner. He will work with institutional investors in the Mid-Atlantic and Southeast United States. Wade was previously an MD in Credit Suisse Asset Management’s institutional distribution group.

    PRESS RELEASE
    Atlantic-Pacific Capital, the largest independently owned global placement agent and advisory firm, announced today the addition of Brian Wade as Partner. Mr. Wade will continue to work closely with institutional investors in the Mid-Atlantic and Southeast United States, including public and corporate pension plans, endowments, foundations, financial institutions, fund-of-funds and family offices.

    Mr. Wade has over 15 years of experience in limited partner, general partner and third-party distribution roles during his alternative investment career. Prior to joining Atlantic-Pacific, Brian was a Managing Director in Credit Suisse Asset Management’s institutional distribution group. Before Credit Suisse, he was the Director of Investor Relations at JLL Partners, a middle-market private equity firm. Previously, Mr. Wade worked at the Virginia Retirement System, where he was the Director of Private Equity after beginning his alternative investment career at the New York State Common Retirement Fund. Mr. Wade earned a Bachelor of Science from Union College and an MBA from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute.

    “I am excited to join Atlantic-Pacific’s global independent platform and to contribute to its established and focused execution-oriented model. I have been particularly impressed with the firm’s track record, quality of mandates, and tenacity demonstrated by the Partner team since the global financial crises,” commented Mr. Wade.

    Mark Bourgeois, CEO and President, said, “I have worked with Brian in various capacities for over 13 years and believe that his prior experience as a limited partner and an investor relations professional complements our current strengths and will be a tremendous asset to our clients.”

    About Atlantic-Pacific Capital www.apcap.com
    Atlantic-Pacific Capital is the largest independently owned global placement agent and advisory firm dedicated to raising capital for alternative investments. Since 1995, the firm has executed over 70 capital raising assignments aggregating over $50 billion for an extraordinary group of alternative asset managers. Typical mandates include private equity, real estate and infrastructure fund placements, as well as secondary advisory assignments and direct private placements. With experienced professionals located in New York, Greenwich, Chicago, San Francisco, London and Hong Kong, Atlantic-Pacific maintains a global network of trusted relationships with influential institutional and high-net-worth investors.

    The post Wade Joins Atlantic-Pacific Capital appeared first on peHUB.

  • Pearson Launches Incubator For Startups In Education Market

    Pearson said it launched an incubator program for startups addressing the education market. The Pearson Catalyst program seeks to match startups with Pearson brands to promote pilot programs and provide resources. Startups need to be less than three years old with products ready to launch. The program will incubate 10 teams of founders for at least three months starting in mid April. Startups will continue to work out of their existing offices and receive up to $10,000 for travel.

    PRESS RELEASE

    INTRODUCING PEARSON CATALYST, THE EDTECH INCUBATOR PROGRAM FOR STARTUPS

    World’s leading learning company to help education startups jumpstart their companies and break through on a global scale

    LONDON AND SAN FRANCISCO – February 20, 2013 – Pearson, the world’s leading learning company, today announced the launch of Pearson Catalyst, a new startup incubator program to identify the most promising education startup companies that share Pearson’s commitment to improving people’s lives through learning, and help enable them to break through on a global scale. The Pearson Catalyst incubator program aims to match startups with Pearson brands to deliver pilot programs and offer access to Pearson resources and product experts, including the opportunity to work closely with a Pearson brand over the course of the program.

    “Pearson Catalyst reflects our desire to be more open and work with forward thinking companies to solve the biggest challenges in global education,” said Diana Stepner, Head of Future Technologies at Pearson. “We believe the future of learning is digital, personal and driven by data – and bringing together Pearson and startups is the perfect combination to build the best future of education today.”

    The Pearson Catalyst incubator program is looking for dynamic, technology-centric, startup teams with a mix of talent, that have been up and running for less than three years and who have viable products that are ready for launch in the market. The ideal startup companies will have a product or products that complement or enhance a Pearson brand. Pearson Catalyst will incubate and accelerate up to ten teams of founders for at least three-months starting in mid-April. Startups will continue to work and be based out of their existing offices, with the potential to meet at Pearson offices as well.

    Startups selected to participate in Pearson Catalyst will receive:

    •    Access to Pearson executives and product experts and the opportunity to be matched with a Pearson company, including a top Pearson executive as key sponsor
    •    The opportunity to present at a Pearson demo day in November 2013 to Pearson executives and technology leaders
    •    Up to $10K for travel and related costs

    Interested education and edtech startups can apply now by emailing [email protected]. .

    About Pearson

    Pearson is the world’s leading learning company, providing educational materials and services, business information through the Financial Times Group, and consumer publishing through the Penguin brand. Pearson serves learners of all ages around the globe, employing 41,000 people in more than 70 countries. For more information, visit www.pearson.com and watch our video here.

    Follow @PearsonAPI on Twitter to get the most up-to-date news about Pearson Catalyst or email [email protected] for more information.

    The post Pearson Launches Incubator For Startups In Education Market appeared first on peHUB.

  • Microsoft boasts big Yammer sales growth

    In June of 2012 Microsoft purchased Yammer, a social networking site geared towards enterprise. The service allows employees to collaborate across buildings and geographic locations. Now the company has released its 2012 numbers in an effort to show that the investment paid off.

    The fourth quarter ended on January 31, and Microsoft reports that sales have “nearly tripled year-over-year”. The service has more than seven million users. The numbers bragging continues with the addition of 290 new companies coming on-board with the service, including big names like TGI Fridays, Woolworth and Trek Bicycles. In fact, the announcement says Yammer now has “85 percent of the Fortune 500”.

    “Yammer experienced banner growth in 2012 and grew particularly fast in the fourth quarter. Our momentum is definitely accelerating following the Microsoft acquisition,” states David Sacks, a Yammer co-founder and now a corporate vice president at Microsoft Office Division.

    According to Adam Pisoni, another Yammer co-founder, there is more growth on the way — “the development teams are coming together quickly, and we are leveraging existing technologies such as SkyDrive Pro and Office Web Apps to swiftly deliver greater value for customers”.

    This is all good news for Microsoft after some questioned the investment of 1.2 billion dollars, or at least questioned the timing of it. Now we just have to wait and see if the ceiling for this endeavor can go a bit higher in 2013. Investors will certainly be waiting to know that as well.

    Photo Credit: Oleksiy Mark/Shutterstock

  • Zuckerberg, Brin Announce Annual $3 Million Prize for Medical Research

    Today, Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg, his wife Priscilla Chan, Google co-founder Sergey Brin, Biologist and businesswoman Anne Wojcicki (Brin’s wife), and investor Yuri Milner have announced a brand new yearly prize that rewards “excellence in research aimed at curing intractable diseases and extending human life.”

    It’s called the Breakthrough Prize in Life Sciences. Apple Chairman Art Levinson with chair the new foundation.

    “Our society needs more heroes who are scientists, researchers and engineers. We need to celebrate and reward the people who cure diseases, expand our understanding of humanity and work to improve people’s lives. That’s why Priscilla and I are honored to partner with Sergey Brin, Anne Wojcicki, Art Levinson and Yuri Milner to create the Breakthrough Prize in Life Sciences. At $3 million per prize, it’s the largest prize for this work in the world. I’m hopeful this serves as a blueprint for prizes and philanthropy in other fields as well,” said Zuckerberg in a Facebook post.

    “Curing a disease should be worth more than a touchdown,” added Sergey Brin.

    The inaugural winners have been announced as well, and here’s the full list:

    Cornelia I. Bargmann

    Torsten N. Wiesel Professor and Head of the Lulu and Anthony Wang Laboratory of Neural Circuits and Behavior at the Rockefeller University. Howard Hughes Medical Institute Investigator.
    For the genetics of neural circuits and behavior, and synaptic guidepost molecules

    David Botstein

    Director of the Lewis-Sigler Institute for Integrative Genomics and the Anthony B. Evnin Professor of Genomics at Princeton University.
    For linkage mapping of Mendelian disease in humans using DNA polymorphisms.

    Lewis C. Cantley

    Margaret and Herman Sokol Professor and Director of the Cancer Center at Weill Cornell Medical College and NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital.
    For the discovery of PI 3-Kinase and its role in cancer metabolism.

    Hans Clevers

    Professor of Molecular Genetics at Hubrecht Institute.
    For describing the role of Wnt signaling in tissue stem cells and cancer.

    Titia de Lange

    Leon Hess Professor, Head of the Laboratory of Cell Biology and Genetics, and Director of the Anderson Center for Cancer Research at the Rockefeller University.
    For research on telomeres, illuminating how they protect chromosome ends and their role in genome instability in cancer.

    Napoleone Ferrara

    Distinguished Professor of Pathology and Senior Deputy Director for Basic Sciences at Moores Cancer Center at the University of California, San Diego.
    For discoveries in the mechanisms of angiogenesis that led to therapies for cancer and eye diseases.

    Eric S. Lander

    President and Founding Director of the Eli and Edythe L. Broad Institute of Harvard and MIT. Professor of Biology at MIT. Professor of Systems Biology at Harvard Medical School.
    For the discovery of general principles for identifying human disease genes, and enabling their application to medicine through the creation and analysis of genetic, physical and sequence maps of the human genome.

    Charles L. Sawyers

    Chair, Human Oncology and Pathogenesis Program at Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center. Howard Hughes Medical Institute Investigator.
    For cancer genes and targeted therapy.

    Bert Vogelstein

    Director of the Ludwig Center and Clayton Professor of Oncology and Pathology at the Johns Hopkins Sidney Kimmel Comprehensive Cancer Center. Howard Hughes Medical Institute Investigator.
    For cancer genomics and tumor suppressor genes.

    Robert A. Weinberg

    Daniel K. Ludwig Professor for Cancer Research at MIT and Director of the MIT/Ludwig Center for Molecular Oncology. Member, Whitehead Institute for Biomedical Research.
    For characterization of human cancer genes.

    Shinya Yamanaka

    Director of Center for iPS Cell Research and Application, Kyoto University. Senior Investigator, Gladstone Institutes, San Francisco.
    For induced pluripotent stem cells.

    Although the inaugural winners total 11, there will only be 5 winners per year moving forward. Each winner receives a $3 million (U.S.) prize. Winners will be selected with the help of previous year’s winners. It will also be a transparent process, allowing for online nominations. There are no age restrictions when it comes to who can be nominated and ultimately win the prize.

  • PlayStation 4 Announcement Streaming Live Online; Here’s Where You Can Watch it

    Mere hours remain until Sony is expected to unveil its next-generation video game console at a major event in New York. The excitement is building while the rumors and leaks surrounding the console have filled gamers’ imaginations this past week. Sony itself has even added to the hype with a series of retrospective videos on past consoles and games that have been posted to the event’s web page.

    This evening the speculation will end and Sony will either usher in a new era of video games or disappoint millions of gamers across the world. The company is obviously confident, as the presentation will be streaming live online. Sony clearly wants the entire world to be watching.

    The presentation will be streaming in several different locations. The event website will, of course, host the stream, as will the latest PlayStation Blog post about the event. The PlayStation Facebook page will also have a stream available, and PlayStation 3 owners can watch the presentation live on their consoles through the PlayStation Home app or through the “What’s New” section of the PS3 Media Bar.

    The presentation begins at 6 pm EST / 3 pm PST / 11 pm GMT, which is also 10 am in Sydney and 8 am in Tokyo on February 21, for those gamers on the other side of the world.

    Don’t be late. Console announcements don’t come often.

  • My SEO Confession

    I have a confession to make. My views on SEO have changed.

    Were I a politician, I would surely be accused of flip-flopping, waffling, and “being against something before I was for it” by pundits. But I am a business person, and I believe that businesses that fail to adjust course when presented with new facts will ultimately fail.

    I famously claimed back in 2006 that “SEO isn’t Rocket Science.” By that I meant that most firms could obtain most of the benefits of SEO by simply following the guidelines posted by Google without the need to resort to obscure and expensive SEO tactics. Many disagreed, the debate about the proper role of SEO produced a lot of commentary, and ultimately an SEO competition for SERP domination using the keywords “Dave Pasternack.” (The competition resulted in a SERP draw between myself and the famous seafood chef).

    2006 was eons ago in Internet time and I think most people would agree with me that the SEO landscape has changed radically. Google polices its SERP real estate much more methodically than it did in 2006 and its penalties for violation of certain of its rules — especially related to content and linking policies — are severe and unforgiving. The Wild West Days are over — civilization — for better or worse — has tamed the Frontier.

    Part of me wants to gloat because the Google Guidelines really do rule the Frontier now. At the same time, however, the claim that “SEO Isn’t Rocket Science” may no longer be true.

    Why? Because everything we do now — in this era of big data — is rocket science. The level of complexity that’s required to run multi-channel, multi-device, geo-targeted campaigns requires more human and computation power than a 1968 Moon Launch. Many firms (including my own) are required to hire Data Scientists to make sense of all of the volume, velocity and variety of data.

    So what’s ahead for SEO? Well, take a look at what’s happened in the past two years. Panda and Penguin have forced the SEO industry into a completely new, very healthy course heading — toward quality content creation/curation and general competitive webmastering. “Gaming the system” is still part of the DNA of SEO, but the focus is on sustainable results — not quick ranking bumps. Consequently, within Corporate America, SEO is increasingly being appreciated strategically — in terms of where it fits into the total paid/earned/owned media mix environment. For the first time, expectations – and budgets — for SEO are being set correctly — as something that every firm must concern itself with if it wants online visibility. SEO careers — because they are multi-disciplinary, multi-skill, and team-based, will continue to thrive.

    So call me a flip-flopper, but I’m as bullish on the future of SEO as anyone. SEO has a great future. (And by the way, if I didn’t believe in SEO I wouldn’t have agreed to acquire an SEO firm last year).

  • You’re a beautiful crowd! 7 moments of audience participation from TED

    audience-shotThere are certain perils to watching a TED Talk live from the audience – occasionally you’ll be asked a stumper of a philosophical question or made the brunt of a speaker’s joke. Then again, you might be given seven and a half extra minutes to live, so it’s really a toss-up. In these talks, pulled from a range of TED and TEDGlobals, watch for audience members getting in on the fun.

    And make sure to tune into the TED Blog staring Monday, February 25, for our live coverage of TED2013. We’ll be writing about every speaker, as well as all the action on-site in Long Beach, Califorinia.

    Arthur Benjamin does "Mathemagic"Arthur Benjamin does "Mathemagic"
    Arthur Benjamin does “Mathemagic”
    Armed with standard calculators, audience members at TED2005 race mathemagician Arthur Benjamin through a dizzying maze of digits – and lose. At 8:05, he matches audience members’ DOB with the day of the week they were born.
    Jane McGonigal: The game that can give you 10 extra years of lifeJane McGonigal: The game that can give you 10 extra years of life
    Jane McGonigal: The game that can give you 10 extra years of life
    Game designer Jane McGonigal’s SuperBetter helped her recover from a head injury. At TEDGlobal 2012, she passes on the healing to the audience, granting them 7.5 extra minutes of life. At 13:00, watch the life-extending action begin.
    Michael Sandel: The lost art of democratic debateMichael Sandel: The lost art of democratic debate
    Michael Sandel: The lost art of democratic debate
    For philosophy professor Michael Sandel, lively debate is the key to a strong democracy – so he calls on the attendees of TED2010 to bring it back. Throughout the talk, audience members share thoughts on Aristotle and on a then-recent Supreme Court decision.
    Charles Hazlewood: Trusting the ensembleCharles Hazlewood: Trusting the ensemble
    Charles Hazlewood: Trusting the ensemble
    “Did you know that TED is a tune?” asks conductor Charles Hazlewood at TEDGlobal 2011. Starting at 8:48, he leads the audience in rousing chorus inspired by the letters T-E-D.
    Beau Lotto + Amy O’Toole: Science is for everyone, kids includedBeau Lotto + Amy O’Toole: Science is for everyone, kids included
    Beau Lotto + Amy O’Toole: Science is for everyone, kids included
    Neuroscientist Beau Lotto pulls the audience into some moments of playful discovery onstage at TEDGlobal 2012. In this talk about the joy of scientific inquiry, his slides show off a language gotcha!. At 12:35, he calls a fellow TED Speaker up to be experimented on.
    Evelyn Glennie: How to truly listenEvelyn Glennie: How to truly listen
    Evelyn Glennie: How to truly listen
    Music can be heard with your whole body, says Grammy-winning deaf percussionist and composer Evelyn Glennie. At TED2003, she asks the audience to listen differently, to rethink music and, at 12:15, to clap the sound of falling snow.
    Keith Barry: Brain magicKeith Barry: Brain magic
    Keith Barry: Brain magic
    One after another, audience members are bedazzled and baffled by Keith Barry’s psychokinetic hijinks at TED2004. He creates phantom sensations, guesses names of ex-boyfriends and narrowly misses one very sharp object.

  • KKR Acquires Ontario Solar Projects

    The infrastructure investment arm of Kohlberg Kravis Roberts & Co. has acquired three solar photo-voltaic energy projects (SSM Solar) based in Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario. SSM Solar, which has a total capacity of 69MWdc and 60MWac, was sold to KKR for an undisclosed price by Starwood Energy Group Global LLC, an affiliate of Starwood Capital, a private equity firm based in Greenwich, Connecticut. During its period of ownership, Starwood Energy oversaw the construction and operation of the Ontario solar facilities. The final phase of development was concluded in 2012.

    PRESS RELEASE

    KKR to Acquire Ontario Solar Projects

    NEW YORK–(BUSINESS WIRE)– KKR today announced the acquisition of three solar photovoltaic (“PV”) energy projects (“SSM Solar”) from an affiliate of Starwood Energy Group. Terms of the transaction were not disclosed.

    Located in Sault Ste Marie, Ontario, SSM Solar has a total capacity of 69MWdc and 60MWac, representing one of the largest PV facilities in North America and the second largest in Canada. SSM Solar is fully contracted to sell its energy output to the Ontario Power Authority (“OPA”) under 20-year power purchase agreements entered under the authority’s Renewable Energy Standard Offer Program (“RESOP”). SSM Solar powers approximately 7,000 households.

    “Ontario has been at the forefront of encouraging new development to bring additional renewables capacity online, and with this acquisition, we are playing a meaningful role in the growth of renewables in the province,” said Raj Agrawal, KKR’s Head of North American Infrastructure. “When it comes to infrastructure, renewable energy is one of our top priorities; not only is the sector a critical part of energy supply diversity, but these investments can also provide investors with highly predictable long-term income streams.”

    Overall operations and management of the solar projects will continue to be handled by EDF Renewable Energy under three separate long term operations and maintenance agreements.

    Ontario, with a population of 13.5 million, is the largest power market in Canada with 38.3GW of installed capacity and peak demand of approximately 24 GW. The Ontario solar market is one of the fastest growing utility scale solar markets globally. Starting in 2006, Ontario put in place specific programs to encourage development of renewables capacity, including OPA RESOP and FiT programs, which offer economic incentives in the form of long-term power purchase agreements. These programs also standardize environmental approvals and offer priority access to renewables to connect the electric grid.

    SSM Solar represents KKR’s eighth infrastructure and its fourth renewables investment through KKR investment vehicles. Other renewable investments include a partnership with Sorgenia, one of the largest wind farm operators in France by installed capacity, a partnership with T-Solar, the largest owner/operator of solar photovoltaic generation assets in Europe; and SunTap Energy, a partnership with Recurrent Energy that is focused on acquiring solar photovoltaic electric generating facilities in North America.

    About KKR

    Founded in 1976 and led by Henry Kravis and George Roberts, KKR is a leading global investment firm with $77.5 billion in assets under management as of December 31, 2012. With offices around the world, KKR manages assets through a variety of investment funds and accounts covering multiple asset classes. KKR seeks to create value by bringing operational expertise to its portfolio companies and through active oversight and monitoring of its investments. KKR complements its investment expertise and strengthens interactions with investors through its client relationships and capital markets platform. KKR & Co. L.P. is publicly traded on the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE: KKR), and “KKR,” as used in this release, includes its subsidiaries, their managed investment funds and accounts, and/or their affiliated investment vehicles, as appropriate. For additional information, please visit KKR’s website at www.kkr.com.

    Media:
    KKR
    Kristi Huller, 212-230-9722
    [email protected]

    Source: KKR

    Photo courtesy of Shutterstock.

    The post KKR Acquires Ontario Solar Projects appeared first on peHUB.

  • What We Talk About When We Talk About "Social"

    Enterprise 2.0, Social Media, Social Business, Social Innovation, Social Era — are they all the same, or are they quite different? Do you know?

    If you don’t know, you might be using the wrong term in the wrong context. Which doesn’t sound so bad, but the risk is misunderstanding, or quite possibly sounding stupid. It’s like using poor grammar; if you use “you’re” when you really mean “your,” some people are going to notice. Beyond looking silly, the much bigger risk — the risk to the business — is that when we throw terms around imprecisely, we risk introducing confusion into the strategy we’re trying to execute. So let’s try to disambiguate the terms so we all know what we’re talking about.

    The term “social media” was popularized by Chris Shipley in 2004, as she described the impact of influencers and bloggers in shaping product adoption, more so than traditional media outlets. Because it includes the word media, and the genesis is marketing, most people think of this as the stuff the CMO and their team worry about. It’s like describing electricity by tying it to what came before it. Saying Social Media is like saying “electric candle.” It points to the new, but is still anchored in the old.

    Andrew McAfee coined the term Enterprise 2.0 about six years ago, and the emphasis was on the on software tools and platforms that increase information flow. The idea was that if we use social tools, we would share information freely both within the organization and external marketplaces. The specific definition in his book of the same name was how “how the Web 2.0 technologies could be used on organizations’ intranet and extranets”. It’s like describing electricity by describing the wires instead of the light — it’s a technologist’s point of view.

    Social Business (sometimes going by the hashtag #socbiz) was a term first created by Mohammed Yunus but more recently claimed as a popular way to describe the way companies can generate greater value for all the constituents (stakeholders, employees, customers, partners, suppliers) — the idea being to add a social overlay to the existing enterprise, and thus more meaning. This second generation of Social Business terminology was coined by the Dachis Group, a marketing organization, and specifically by Peter Kim, who consults on it. Some experts use the Social Business term as the evolution of Social Media as the same tools used for marketing efficiencies can be applied to product development, customer care, or supply chain work. Some people tie it to Michael Porter’s Shared Value concept. Sometimes people use the term Social Capitalism to get to this same idea.

    And Open Innovation or Crowdsoucing are often linked to any of these three terms – enterprise 2.0, social media and social business. Organizations can use social tools to improve how others work with you to create value together.

    With all of these definitions around, you might wonder why I even added to the terminology when I wrote a book and coined the term #socialera. I didn’t want to create a new term, and yet I felt that none of the terms to date capture the key shifts. The term “Social Media” is limited by its connection with marketing and communications. “Enterprise 2.0” is too technological. And “Social Business” simply added an overlay to the existing framework rather than challenging the premise of an organization. “Social Era” then captures two distinct power shifts:

    1. Organizational. Connected individuals can now do what once only large centralized organizations could. This fundamentally alters the structural core and role of “the firm,” and of working people. As more and more freelancers and solopreneurs enter the market, work is increasingly freed from jobs. The shift is from “value chain” to “value flows.” (An earlier post of mine on this idea can be read here.)
    2. Individual. Anyone can be a game changer by using the power of their ideas. They need not first be vetted or chosen to be powerful. These largely unheard voices are essential for solving new problems, as well as for finding new solutions to old problems. Without celebrating what anyone — quite possibly everyone — can offer, people are simply cogs in a machine: dispensable and undervalued. By celebrating each person and the value only they can create, economic power is unlocked. And it’s not that everyone will, but that anyone can. (See earlier talks and posts on this idea).

    Sometimes it helps to see distinctions side by side:

    Term Origin Implication
    Social Media Chris Shipley and ClueTrain Manifesto Moving marketing from a monologue to a dialogue.
    Enterprise 2.0 Andrew McAfee Tools can speed information flow and tear down siloes.
    Social Business (1.0) Mohammed Yunus Make profits and meaning (at the same time). (Also referred to as Social Innovation or Social Entrepreneurship.)
    CrowdSourcing / Open Innovation Clay Shirky / Henry Chesborough Leverage others to create value for you.
    Social Business (2.0) Peter Kim (and Dachis organization) By being more connected, (i.e. using social tools), a company can generate greater value to all its constituents.
    Social Era Nilofer Merchant Connected individuals can now do what once only large centralized organizations could do, which changes organizational structures and individual power.

    In some cases, we’re talking about tools. In others, we’re talking about how the marketplace economy changes. And, in some ways we’re talking how the organization changes. When we use the terms interchangeably, confusion is prevalent and meaning is lost. Unless you’re talking about marketing specifically, don’t use the term “Social Media.” The electric light bulb wasn’t a new kind of candle. Not to mention, CEOs and boards think of “social media” as the stuff their marketing team drives. If you are discussing ways social tools can be applied to all parts of a value chain, “social business” is probably the term you are looking for, although there’s still plenty of confusion with social enterprise. If you describing a reconstitution of work and institutions, then use Social Era.

    No term is ever complete. Each of us are building on each others’ ideas as we collectively grapple with understanding and decoding what is happening, and what we think it means. We are all seeking clarity but are limited by our own understanding, our vantage, and by, of course, the examples we witness.

    But this is not about semantics. When we focus on tools alone, I think we’re making a mistake. It’s geek chic, it’s even interesting, but it’s not talking about what is possible. The bigger point is that major changes are afoot that change value creation, the meaning of work, and the structures for our institutions.

    When we conflate the tools with the outcomes, I think we risk meaning and impact. When we all use more precise language, each of us will find that people understand our meaning, and more clearly see the light.

  • Forrester: Tablet Ownership In Europe To Rise 4x In 5 Years — 55% Of Region’s Online Adults Will Own One By 2017, Up From 14% In 2012

    ipadgalnote

    Analyst Forrester is predicting tablet ownership in Western Europe will quadruple by 2017 – with the percentage of online adults owning a slate projected to increase markedly from less than a fifth (14 per cent) last year to more than half (55 per cent) in 2017. In 2011 the tablet-owner figure stood at just 7 per cent, underlining how quickly digitally connected consumers are adopting slates. ”With double-digit growth in tablet uptake across Western Europe in 2012 and further double-digit growth expected, tablets can no longer be considered a fad,” says Forrester, writing in a new tablet-related research report it’s putting out tomorrow.

    The analyst said it expects the consumer-owned installed base of tablets to reach more than 147 million in Western Europe in 2017, up from 33 million in 2012. Its tablet growth forecast is based on a survey of 13,000 consumers in France, Germany, Italy, Netherlands, Spain, Sweden, and the UK. The polled nations with the largest proportion of tablet owners, as a percentage of their total online population, were the Netherlands, with 20 per cent tablet penetration in 2012; Spain with 18 per cent; Italy with 16 per cent; and the U.K. with 15 per cent. France was lowest with just nine per cent.

    In a preliminary version of Forrester’s tablet report, seen by TechCrunch, a few observations stand out — including a downward shift in the age-range of the largest group of tablet owners, shifting away from 30- to 40-year-olds to 18- to 24-year-olds. The analyst found a quarter of online adults in the 18- to 24-year-old category owned a tablet in 2012. The shift towards more younger tablet owners may accelerate in future — Forrester points to the rise of “competitively priced” Android powered tablets in the sub-€250 category, such as Amazon’s Kindle Fire and Google’s Nexus 7. And since tablet ownership increases with income, according to Forrester’s findings, and the young are keenest on owning a tablet, then cheaper Android tablets which are half the price of Apple’s iPad are likely to be helping to drive adoption lower down the age range, to users who previously may not have had the disposable income to afford an iPad. As well as Android-powered slates stepping into that pricing vs demand gap, Apple also came out with the smaller, cheaper iPad mini last year. Yet more fuel for the tablet fire.

    The living room and the bedroom are the only locations where tablet owners chose their slate over their smartphone

    While the young are the keenest on tablets, Forrester said they are by no means the only age-group with an interest. Nearly one in six European online consumers aged 65 or older already owns a tablet, according to the report.

    Despite the rise of cheaper slates, price remains a considerable barrier to tablet entry for a big chunk of online European adults — Forrester found that around a third of those polled are not planning on buying a tablet due to price (and regardless of income) — suggesting lots of potential tablet owners still have trouble justifying the purchase of an additional gadget, on top of their smartphone or PC.

    When it comes to tablet usage, Forrest found that tablets are unsurprisingly most used in the home — specifically the living room, bedroom and kitchen, whereas smartphones have a much wider and more consistent distribution of usage (as illustrated by the graphic below). The living room and the bedroom are the only two locations where polled tablet owners chose their slate over their smartphone. Or, in other words, the most used gadget is the gadget you have in your pocket.

    According to Forrester, the main usage activities for tablets are accessing the Internet, emailing, social networking, playing games, and viewing pictures. It also found that tablets are not the highly personal devices that smartphones are: of the tablet-owners who have a spouse/partner, 63 per cent said they share their tablet with them, while one-third share it with their children — making tablets “a far more social device than smartphones”, according to the analyst.

    “Tablets are social devices mostly used in the digital home,” said Thomas Husson, analyst and co-author of the new report, in a statement. “Companies that want to exploit tablet opportunities need to understand they require a differentiated approach from smartphones.”

    The report also underlines a ‘halo effect’ for smartphone makers who also sell tablets. Forrester identified a general allegiance among smartphone owners to their phone’s brand when choosing a tablet — especially pronounced for iPhone owners but not limited to Apple’s hardware. The report notes:

    While the Apple iPad is the dominant tablet in Western Europe, it is most popular with iPhone owners — a staggering 83% of European iPhone owners who have a tablet opted for an iPad. Similarly, the Samsung Galaxy tablet is most popular with Samsung Galaxy and Wave smartphone owners, and the Windows 7 tablet with owners of Windows-based smartphones.

    Tablet owners also tend to own a plethora of other connected gadgets — six others on average, according to Forrester — and are “more technology savvy than non-tablet owners”, a finding that is consistent with an early adopter profile. Forrester links smartphone ownership to tablet ownership as a key driver for slate sales up to now — noting that “the proportion of European smartphone owners who own a tablet (28 per cent) is more than double that of those who aren’t smartphone owners (12 per cent)”.

    However the analyst says what’s true for the current crop of (still early adopter) tablet owners, won’t be true as tablet ownership expands to take in a greater proportion of the population. ”We are still in the early-adoption phase of tablet ownership, so the next wave of tablet owners will not be as eager; to convince them to adopt a tablet, marketers will need to stress attributes like accessibility, ease of use, and relevance,” says Forrester.

    The analyst believes tablets are likely to expand their usefulness beyond the living room/bedroom in the near future, with usage patterns being shaken up by a variety of factors including enterprise/workplace adoption of tablets; the diversification of form factors (such as smaller tablets and phablets, touchscreen laptops and “netvertibles”, hybrid devices and other new forms); as well as the roll out of 4G cellular services and more cellular data bundles.

    Likewise, tablet usage will be dictated by form factor — so usage patterns may also shift, as tablets migrant to other locations. “A tablet with an attachable keyboard will encourage greater usage of email and work-related applications; and while not a pocket-size device, a 7-inch tablet will encourage greater portability,” the report notes.

  • With $650K In Seed Funding, YC-Backed Upverter Chases The Dream Of A Hardware Startup Revolution

    Screen Shot 2013-02-20 at 1.43.14 PM

    Toronto’s Upverter is a startup that’s poised to effect change that could reshape the landscape of entrepreneurship. That’s not something you can say about most of the businesses we cover on a daily basis, whether or not they have good ideas. But it’s definitely true of Upverter, the company that’s hoping to build a cloud-based hardware engineering platform that can match and overtake its desktop-based counterparts within the next few years.

    So what would that mean for the messy, expensive business of hardware prototyping and product creation? Nothing less than the beginning of a new era, according to Upverter CEO and co-founder Zak Homuth.

    “The three of us that founded the company all kind of come from a mixed hardware/software background, we all studied electrical engineering, we all worked co-op jobs at startups all around the world, did a little bit of hardware and a little bit of software,” he explained in an interview. “And then we got together to try to improve the rate of innovation with hardware. We all ran away from it, because it was easier to build software than to build hardware, and we wanted to fix that, because we wanted to build hardware personally.”












    The idea was to make tools that would allow Homuth and his co-founders to build a hardware company as their next startup venture, so they quit their jobs, sold their possessions to get some working capital and moved to Homuth’s parents basements, with the nascent idea of building an engineering platform that lives entirely in the cloud. For the fledgling startup, the question was whether or not they could build a GitHub for hardware, how cloud-based it could be, and whether that was something anyone even wanted. Flash forward four months.

    “Then we got into Y Combinator, picked the company up, moved it down to Mountain View and got this shitty little townhouse across from YC,” he said. “By that time we’d figured out that the solution to the version control problem, the innovation problem, the crowdsourcing problem was to move it all to the cloud, and specifically the tools. Because if you move the tools to the cloud you make it possible to control the file format, so that you can do version control, you can control consumption, you can control the viewer.”

    Upverter launched a very simple version to a very controlled group before coming out of YC, and then took that MVP-style product into something that could be used by the general public in September of 2011. “It couldn’t really do much,” Homuth admits. “But it was the line in the sand that allowed us to say ‘Does anybody wanted to do engineering this way, instead of the way you’ve been doing it for 30 years?’ and we got enough ‘yesses’ that we kept working on it.”

    The company has since been tracking down money, building out its tools to a point where they actually compete with existing design tools, via a release just a few short months ago. Upverter has raised $650,000 so far from angel investors, including YouTube founding team member Christina Brodbeck, and Xobni co-founder Adam Smith, and that has managed to allow them to build a software tool that begins to be able to compete with existing tools. But there’s still a long way to go, Homuth says.

    “It’s not at parity by any means, it can’t do everything that $100,000 software can do yet, but you can do non-zero stuff,” he said. “You can actually get stuff manufactured, you can actually simulate, you can actually manage a product’s life cycle, you can actually design. And that was step one in our three step plan to change engineering.”

    Step two is to get the platform to parity with existing tools

    Step two is to get the platform to that parity point, where it can compete with existing tools on an equal footing with legacy software. Getting to a point where they can design equally well in a browser as with a desktop tool is around six months away, according to Homuth, at which point Upverter will be able to start building out its sales and marketing team. Once it gets there, Upverter will have built in a little over three years what legacy CAD companies have taken 30 years to create. The next goal, beyond that, is to become the “Rosetta Stone of engineering,” meaning that no matter how you come at engineering, no matter what tools you’re using, it’ll translate and you can work with anyone else in the world on the same files and on the same projects.

    Upverter’s ultimate goal is still at least a couple of years away, Homuth says, and the time it takes to get there will be dependent on what kind of money the startup can raise. He’s actively looking for fresh investment now, while also continuing to add to the 10,000-strong user base it has managed to attract so far.

    The rise of Upverter means a potential explosion on the horizon for hardware startups, which is why the company is hosting a hardware hackathon with Y Combinator on February 23rd. Making hardware engineering collaborative, affordable and easy to access can have a tremendous impact on the cost of doing business and risks associated with creating new hardware, which is why Upverter achieving its goals could lead to a new revolution for hardware startups, incubators and investors alike.

    If you happen to be one of those hardware startups, Upverter is offering free team accounts to TC readers. Just follow this link to sign up.

  • ARM is already the brains of your smartphone. Now it wants to run the network too

    ARM cores pretty much have the mobile applications processor market locked up, though Intel is trying to peck away at the dominance. But ARM isn’t content with its single mobile kingdom. It’s encroaching on the neighboring realm of mobile infrastructure as well, aiming to make its cores the workhorse processors in cellular base stations.

    This week LSI announced its first ARM-based chip for the mobile base station. You thought Nvidia and Qualcomm’s quad-core smartphone processors were impressive, well LSI is embedding 16 ARM Cortex A15 cores, along with LSI’s networking accelerators and ARM’s low-latency CoreLink interconnect technology, onto a single 28-nanometer chip.

    The chip family is designed for base stations of all sizes, scaling from the macrocell down to the picocell, making similar to the flexible and modular platforms offered by competitors Texas Instruments (TXN) and Freescale. Both Freescale and TI have begun incorporating ARM cores into their base station chips, though neither one is a complete ARM convert. Freescale leans heavily on the PowerPC architecture, while TI is pairing ARM cores with its bread-and-butter digital signal processors (DSPs). But ARM is definitely taking bigger and bigger strides into the mobile network with its increasingly powerful but energy-efficient silicon designs.

    One company that’s hoping to join ARM within the guts of the mobile network is Intel, which is no stranger to skirmishes with the U.K. silicon giant in the infrastructure market. Intel is trying to establish a foothold for itself in the emerging technology cloud-RAN (RAN stands for radio access network). Cloud-RAN would separate the base station from the tower and move baseband processing into the cloud.

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  • Site used in malware attack on Apple, Facebook explains how it happened

    The owner of a website that was a conduit used by hackers to breach employee computers at both Facebook and Apple has come forward to explain the events that took place last month. Ian Sefferman, co-founder of the iPhoneDevSDK website, said Wednesday in a blog post that he’d found evidence that the targeted attack came from an administrator account on his website that was compromised.

    Though Sefferman says he believes the site is no longer infected, it’s safer not to visit the site for now — hence no link. Here’s how MacRumors reported Sefferman’s statement:

    What we’ve learned is that it appears a single administrator account was compromised. The hackers used this account to modify our theme and inject JavaScript into our site. That JavaScript appears to have used a sophisticated, previously unknown exploit to hack into certain user’s computers.

    We’re still trying to determine the exploit’s exact timeline and details, but it appears as though it was ended (by the hacker) on January 30, 2013.

    He says he doesn’t believe any his site’s user data was actually compromised.

    AllThingsD was the first to report iPhoneDevSDK’s involvement in the attack.

    Both Apple and Facebook blamed Java: each reported recently that some of their employees’ computers were infected by malware from a vulnerability in a Java browser plug-in. Apple has since released a software patch for Java for OS X. Both companies say no user data was stolen.

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